Mississippi legislators are considering a proposal to strengthen the state’s charter school law. This is great news for a state with the weakest charter school policy among the 41 states (and D.C.) that have them. However, because the state Senate Education Committee has moved to ban virtual charter schools, the scope of this new policy is significantly limited. As the Center for Education Reform reports, Mississippi has allowed charter schools since 2010 but has no charter schools in operation. Its law is considered “in name only” and was merely enacted …
Despite the fact that the “cost of basic knowledge is cheaper than ever before,” the cost of attending college continues to skyrocket. In large part, dramatic increases in college tuition are the result of ever-growing federal higher education subsidies, which have allowed universities to raise prices while incentivizing students to take on more loan debt. But the college price bubble could soon be on the verge of busting, thanks to budding innovations and entrepreneurs in the higher education market. Udemy and Udacity are two new and innovative online learning platforms …
It used to be that children had to worry about the school bully stealing their lunch money. Now they also have to worry about the federal government taking their lunches away. A recent story about a North Carolina preschooler’s lunch being confiscated because it failed to meet federal requirements has made headlines. The Carolina Journal News explains: A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because the school told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious. The girl’s turkey and cheese …
Obama’s new budget proposal that was unveiled on Monday includes increases budget of the Department of Education to $70 Billion, but it curiously cuts funding to the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (D.C. OSP). Click here to join us on right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” online chat. we are joined by Heritage’s Education expert Lindsey Burke. She is taking your questions about the Education budget and the success of the D.C. OSP is and why it is important for the future of school choice. Lunch with Heritage …
This week, the White House announced its plan to boost taxpayer-funded subsidies for “green” energy vehicles like the Chevy Volt, offering buyers a $10,000 tax incentive to help tickle their buying bone. On Monday, White House economic adviser Gene Sperling described the subsidy, and ironically enough, market forces seem to be his favorite part of the plan (watch in the clip, above): “You will see in here a new consumer tax incentive for buying advanced technology vehicles. These are technology neutral; they are at the point of sale; they’re worth …
“Either he doesn’t get it, or he doesn’t care,” Sheila Jackson, parent of a D.C. Opportunity Scholarship recipient, said upon hearing the news that President Obama’s budget eliminates funding for the popular program. Jackson sounded torn about which was worse. “I was appalled,” she told Scribe. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program provides low-income families in one of the worst public school systems in America with vouchers to attend private schools of their choice. More than 1,600 students are benefiting this year alone. Jackson’s daughter, Shawnee, has had a scholarship since …
A bipartisan group of lawmakers today promised to defend the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program for low-income families following President Obama’s decision to eliminate funding in his budget. “The bipartisan, grassroots coalition responsible for keeping the Opportunity Scholarship Program alive will continue speaking out, and I’ll be standing alongside them every step of the way,” Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Tuesday. Boehner teamed with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) last year to sponsor legislation to save the program. It was eventually reauthorized for five years under the bipartisan budget agreement. More than …
Yesterday, I received notice that the Obama Administration’s 2013 budget cancels out the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program(DCOSP). I was reminded of how happy the families in the District were last April when they learned that the program had been reauthorized due to House Speaker John Boehner’s (R–OH) determination and the parents’ courage to fight for it. As I left DC in July 2011 and moved back to my hometown of Arkansas, I felt confident that the children and families I love would continue to have access to this wonderful program …
Want a clear indication of President Barack Obama’s priorities? Take a look at the spending decisions emerging from his Administration today. In the battle between $40,000 dollar-electric-car-buying yuppies and at-risk kids in the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, rich people won, and they have President Obama to thank for it. The Winners: Today, President Obama put the taxpayers’ money where his allegiances lie. The Daily Caller reports that the White House intends to increase taxpayer-funded subsidies for those who purchase new-technology vehicles, including the Chevy Volt, to $10,000 per buyer, up …
The Obama administration is once again standing with education special interest groups and against low-income children in Washington, D.C. His 2013 budget request zeros out funding for the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which was revived last year thanks to the hard work of Speaker John Boehner and the thousands of D.C. families who received scholarships to attend a private school of choice. In 2009, Senator Dick Durbin included a provision in an omnibus spending bill prohibiting any new children from receiving scholarships unless the program was fully reauthorized …
